


Strawberry Fields Forever

by Opal394



Category: The Beatles (Band)
Genre: Coming of Age
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:00:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27223120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Opal394/pseuds/Opal394
Summary: Eleanora Mahoney was kicked out of her home when she was only 15 years old. Forced to fend for herself, she stumbles upon Strawberry Field, an orphanage all the locals know about. Soon Strawberry Field becomes her home. But she isn't exactly supposed to be there. After being told she must leave by her 16th birthday, she has no plan. That is until she sees a boy from outside her window.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter may be a bit vague idk but I promise I made like this on purpose. I'm going to be updating as I work on the story pls let me know of you're enjoying so I'll know to work on it and leave comments of ideas or anything else ♡

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introduction chapter  
> Eleanora or Nora is growing restless at Strawberry Field, but sees a boy (I think you can guess who) out her window, which brings her hope.

When I had first arrived at Strawberry Field I only had what I'd brought with me. I was kicked out of my house when I was only 15 years old. I'd packed a small backpack full of clothes with the minutes my father gave me to be out. Then after a bit of talking and wagering, I made my way to Strawberry Field. Strawberry Field is a nickname given by locals to a girls orphanage run by the Salvation Army. That made it extra hard to get myself a bed in that home. It wasn't easy, no, but once I got there, life became something again. I no longer felt like my life didn't matter. Like it would make no difference whether I died right then and there. 

When I was almost 16 and had been at Strawberry Field for nearly a year, I woke up one night unable to get tired again. I played staring at the ceiling for what felt like hours before I grew restless. My body felt like it was vibrating with energy. I knew I needed to do something stimulating. So I did what I always did when I couldn't sleep. I propped myself up and gazed out my window. 

As I was looking out my window watching the clouds slowly drift out of sight for the next clouds to appear, I also saw a boy approaching the fence that separated the grounds and the rest of the neighborhood. He got to the fence, looked at it for a moment and then jumped over. He fell on the other side and rolled over, appearing to be extremely winded. Finally he got back up and walked to the giant willow tree that sat relatively near the fence. Once he got there he threw himself down at the trunk and sat there. Doing nothing. I sat and stared at this kid for ages. He did absolutely nothing at all. He quite literally sat there in the near pitch black and did nothing for almost 3 hours. I was starting to drowsy again when I was startled awake by his movement. He jumped up, dusted off his bottom and legs, and skipped over to the fence to jump over again. This time he was much more careful so he wouldn't fall on the concrete. 

I felt so extremely bored once he'd gone but I was still thankful that I'd managed to grow tired again. I flopped down on my back. I wondered if perhaps he'd been here before and I'd missed him or if it was his first time coming. Why he would come here at 1:30 in the morning I had no clue, but I hoped he would come back. I closed my eyes to tried to sleep and the next thing I knew it was morning. 

I got out of bed to breakfast but amongst all the chatter I couldn't focus. What I'd seen last night, though so insignificant, stood out to me somehow. I knew already that I was going to stay up to see if he'd come again. It was all I could think about all day. During mass, school hours, quiet time, and especially while we were outside. 

There was a feeling in my gut that he would come back. I think that's why I couldn't stop thinking about it all day. I couldn't help but wonder how many times he'd been there before and I'd never noticed. The occurrence had truly meant nothing but I hadn't seen someone my age for so long that it felt, combined with the hazy darkness, like a dream. 

By the time dinner had finally come it felt like the day had taken twice as long as it usually did. Now, I was used to long days, after all it was a lonely thing to live in an orphanage, but I didn't suspect that it would drag on for so long. My anxiety was in my throat by then and I could barely anticipate much longer. I couldn't even comprehend what I was expecting, I just knew I couldn't miss this boy. I needed to know him. Maybe go to a real school with him. Something to get out of the same building I'd stayed in for an entire year with no new faces. 

Truthfully, I did miss my family a bit. I'd been raised with a Hispainic mother who I'd never met and an Irish father. It was quite a shame I never knew my true culture, and I often thought of if my mother would be disappointed in me. I never spoke a word of Spanish, knew nothing of the cuisine, lifestyle, nothing. Having 2 immigrants as parents meant I was different right from the start, and I hated that. It almost made me glad that I never knew my mother, knew of a culture that scarcely anyone seemed to hear about in England. 

I was deep in thought trying to distract myself from my worry when I heard snapping. 

"Nora!" I heard one of the nuns say in a louder than usual voice. 

"Oh I'm so sorry sister I completely lost myself for a moment there. What were you saying?" 

"You've not touched a speck of your meal. I'll have no wasting young lady, please give it to one of the girls if you will not be eating tonight." 

"Of course sister. Who wants it tonight?" I asked and raised my plate off of the table. 

The youngest girl, Clara, who was 4 and a half jumped up from her chair and shot her small hand up in the air. 

"Me! Me, me!" She yelled and bounced up and down. 

"Alright, Clara it is. Sit down now," I said as I placed my full plate gently in front of her. Her grin nearly took over her tiny face. 

"You may be excused if that's all for your dinner," one of the sisters said. 

"Thank you sister," I mumbled and waved a hand at her as I took off up the stairs. 

I got to my bed and plopped down before turning to look out the window. It was just about dark outside, I could see the end of dusk fastly approaching. I knew I couldn't just sit there and watch the sky change, so I pulled out the book I'd been reading and hoped I could distract myself as easily as I usually could. I tend to get very tired when I read, so I hoped even a nap would buy me some time for everyone to be asleep. 

Before I knew it I heard the stomping of the rest of the girls coming up the stairs to get ready for bed, and I realized I'd fallen asleep and was sideways on my bed. I rubbed my eyes over and over but couldn't shake off my tired. I figured it wouldn't matter because I surely couldn't leave until 2 am at the earliest and it was only 11 pm. I sat up fully now and tucked my head into my knees. A few more hours wasn't so bad. I turned my head to look out the window.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora finally meets the boy after waiting all day and into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit longer of a chapter and it gets pretty exciting from here!

Chapter 2

As the girls started to settle down and slowly grow less fussy, my excitement began to grow. After it became silent I checked my watch. It was about 12:30 pm, so I set an alarm for 1:40 am. Once I finally untensed my body and turned my back to the rest of the room I became very relaxed. I was able to look out my window, watch every plane pass noisily, see each bird fly by and into the big tree, and eventually I fell back asleep. 

I woke up in a bit of a panic, worried I'd maybe slept through my alarm, so I checked my watch. It was 1:30. I turned the alarm off and sat up. Slowly, I uncovered my body with the blanket and rose from bed as quietly as possible, which was hard considering I had been laying on my back. Once I was on my feet I stood on my tippy toes to make sure I hadn't missed the boy. He was sitting under the tree, more peaceful looking than he'd been the night before. 

I decided to ditch my slippers which were tucked underneath my bed, crept to the door and opened it slowly. It opened with a bit of pressure, but it thankfully didn't swing, so I walked straight out taking the softest steps possible, and closed the door.

I went straight down the stairs, down the hall, to the back door and placed my hand on the knob. For a second I thought maybe I should go back to my bed. After all, I didn't technically need to be there. I was a guest. But if I was quiet there would be no difference to them. I stood there for a minute, really contemplating going back, but I had already made up my mind when I saw the boy sit down the night before. I turned the knob very slowly and luckily it didn't creak much. Once the latch was out of the door, I pushed it open as fast as I could and my legs carried me faster than I thought out of the doorway. I shut the door as carefully as I could but as soon as it was closed I began to sprint towards the tree. 

By the time I could make out the boy's face I was panting and out of breath. From there I sped walk in case he asked why I was out of breath. Although it was a harmless question, anything could make me embarrassed. 

Once I got close enough I saw that the boy had his head back and his eyes closed. He seemed to be very calm. I think he heard my feet shuffling in the grass because he poked one eye open. 

When I saw he could see me I stopped in my tracks. He stared at me and didn't seem to be bothered so I reluctantly raised my hand and gave a wave. He raised his hand slowly and did the same.

"Do you live here?" He asked, moving his legs to sit criss cross applause. 

I nodded slowly. 

"Oh okay. Had you been to Strawberry Field before?" He asked in a very composed and interested manner.

"Only heard of it," I said, looking down at my bare feet, covered in wet grass. 

He laughed and nodded his head. "So..why are you here?" He asked. "If you don't mind me asking." 

"Oh. My parents. They kicked me out and I don't have much family that lives here or is willing to take me in. I've got 2 months before I'm 15 and then I'm out of here. I can't stay past 14 year old." 

"Wow. I wonder why they do that. I mean, do you have somewhere you think you could go?"

I chuckled. "Not at all. Probably I'll just sleep at the church until I get a job and enough money for the smallest, cheapest flat I can possibly find." 

Honestly I hadn't really thought about what I'd do after I had to leave enough. It was a very, very big deal and I'd not given it nearly enough thought for what it deserved. I mean, I'd be homeless at 15 year old. That's horrendous. 

"How long did you say you have?" He asked

"Just a little less than 2 months. It's the end of March and my 15th birthday is May 4th. Well, really only about a month and a week but…" I trailed off. 

I was in a very strange situation. My parents had kicked me out when I was 14 years old, I walked and walked until I got to an orphanage that let me stay there until my 15th birthday, I saw a boy sitting under a tree in the yard of the orphanage, simply walked up to him, and started a conversation like it was nothing. It was all starting to come to me. The way I'd been living for nearly a year, the fact I had no problem anymore speaking with strangers because I'd seen no new faces. 

The boy seemed to notice my facial expression go from hopeful to completely numb and sat up a bit straighter.

"That's not a very long time at all," he said as though he was processing the length of time I had left as he said it. "Well, you can't live on the streets. That's just indecent. Not fair at all. You..you can come stay with me." 

I was listening very loosely to him and so when he said that I barely realized at first. 

"What'd you mean I can stay with you?! I've just met you. I don't know your name, how old you are, where you go to school, much less how your parents would like it if you took some random girl whose parents didn't want her from an orphanage to come live with you!" 

"It's not right for you to be on your own. You're not old enough to have all that stress. And I have no problem letting you stay with me," He said defensively.

I realized how hard I'd been. He was being very kind to me. 

"I'm sorry, that was not very nice of me. It's very kind of you to open your home, and though I have not many other options for somewhere to stay, I can't accept. It's not fair to your family especially since you haven't asked them about it. Imagine how odd it would be to wake up in the morning and have there be someone else living there. It's not fair to them. I'd love to have somewhere to stay but it can't be this sporadic."

"I don't have 2 parents though. I live with my aunt. That's it, just me and her. So one more person wouldn't be a big deal. I can ask tomorrow and come back and let you know what she says. Is that alright?"

"Why are you so interested in helping me though? I don't know you," I said. 

"Well you seem like you're not in a very good place, no? Why shouldn't I help you?" 

"I guess that makes sense," I said, walking a bit closer so I could try to make out his face. "I never asked your name."

"Oh, my name's John," He said and he got his things and began to stand up. "What's your name?" 

"I'm called Eleanora. You can just call me Nora though. If you want to." 

"Okay, Nora. Have a nice night," He said and turned to walk towards the fence. 

I watched him for just a moment. 

"Wait!" I called. "When will you come tomorrow?" 

"I'll be here at 12:30 tomorrow night, and come with a bag packed of all your things because you might just come back with me," He said a bit louder with his back turned to me as he arrived to the fence and began to climb over it. 

I watched him climb up and over the fence and soon I couldn't see him anymore. I stood in the same spot. Wondering what had happened. Wondering if I had a chance at a real home, even if just for a week or a month. Strawberry Field was great but even from the beginning I knew it was only temporary and that never let me rest easy. I only had 3 years until I was an adult and I would have a better chance at life. I'd quit school, quit my life really. 

By the time I got back up and into my bed it was starting to get light out. I didn't make much noise but if I had I doubt I would've cared. This was the part that was all too familiar. Waiting.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora finally meets the boy after waiting all day and into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit longer of a chapter to explain the plot really, and it gets pretty exciting from here! ♡

I woke up feeling awful. It was nearly 11 when I finally got downstairs. The nuns were visibly not happy with me but said nothing. I already knew the day would drag on and on but I was convinced that I would be fully prepared when John came. I knew I was setting myself up to be let down but frankly I was fine with that. I was glad, at least, that I'd woken up late so I didn't have so long of a time to wait. 

Throughout the day I went through all my things. I still had what I brought with me the day I was kicked out. I'd brought one plain dress, a pair of black tights, and a pair of yellow tights, a pair of jeans that people really seemed to dislike, one brown belt, my blouse with blue and yellow flowers, my plain green blouse, a green skirt, my warmed overcoat, and my boots. I'd completely forgotten about undergarments, I was so nervous people would be able to notice I'd been wearing the same different things over and over again. The same day I left I went to a department store, but since it was a sunday there weren't many people there. I swiped 6 pairs of knickers, 2 brassieres, and 5 rags I could use as feminine towels. I could at least wash them and reuse them unlike a kotex. 

I'd brought none of my school supplies, not one book, nothing really educational at all. I never minded at all honestly, reading really wasn't for me. The only thing I ever love to do was sing. I would sing anything if I was able to. I always thought it was weird how some people were tone deaf. They couldn't sing a song the same way it goes. That was something I was always fine at and I loved doing. It was the one thing my Dad didn't hate about me, too. He asked for me to sing to him from time to time, only if he was in a good mood. And since I never needed anything to sing but myself, I was always in okay spirits while living at home.

By the time dinner time rolled around, my bag was organized neatly at the foot of my bed, and unlike the rest of the girls, I was not in my pajamas. I'd frankly dressed fairly nicely. I was wearing my green skirt with my belt and my green blouse and my yellow tights, with my shoes on and everything. 

We were all sat around the table eating when Sister Victoria, my least favorite nun, noticed my attire. I always found it weird that nuns had such scandalous names. When I think of Victoria I think of, frankly, a tramp. I was thinking of that when she called my name. 

"Eleanora?" She said, placing her fork down next to her plate elegantly even though we didn't live in elegant conditions. 

"Yes Sister Victoria?" I responded quietly, staring at my plate in agony, hoping that maybe she would ask me to wash dishes or something after supper. 

"Why are you dressed to go to the ball young lady?" 

My heart sank but if I was to leave tonight at least they should know, so I cleared my throat softly and placed my silverware down on my plate

"Sister, I may be leaving for somewhere else very late tonight. A friend...from my old high school has volunteered to let me stay with them until I can afford to live on my own. Ma'am." 

Some of the girls put their heads down, and one girl let out a quiet, "Aw," which made me a little bit sad. I never knew they cared much about me, I didn't talk to many of them, especially the older 9-10 year old girls, because they didn't seem to like me very much. 

"I see. Well, you will not be leaving late from here tonight and wake up all the little girls. You may arrange to get there earlier, or you may wait in the front room until they arrive. Am I clear, young lady?" 

I sighed but knew she would not be convinced otherwise. 

"Yes, ma'am. Sister. Thank you very much." I looked down at my plate with 2 pieces of potato left. "I'm going to get my bag then and get myself settled if I may, Sister. Would anyone like these potatoes?" 

Every girl raised her hand so I once again picked the youngest girl, Clara.

"There you are," I said, scraping the 2 potatoes off of my plate and into hers, and slinking away to place my dishes in the sink as nonchalantly as I could. 

As I left the kitchen and began to make my way upstairs to get my things, I checked my watch. It was about 6:30 pm so I had 6 and a half hours until I'd have to go. It was no use trying to call around or go door to door but at that point I was considering it. 6 hours was a long time to sit around and wait. And for all I knew he wouldn't show up. And why did I even accept in the first place? I didn't know him. Maybe I was desperate for a friend or for something normal, but in my situation most things just couldn't be normal anymore.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora finally makes it to John's, but not without a bit of challenge.

After I got my things in the front room I sat on the couch and tried to stay calm. It was only about 8pm by the time all the girls had said goodnight and goodbye. Sister Victoria and Sister Marie thanked me for being kind to the rest of the girls and for helping them and giving them my food and whatnot. It would almost be a sad occasion if it wasn't absolutely thrilling. I mean, the first time for an entire year that I would not be in that building overnight. I'd slept in that same spot, that same bed for a year and even though it really flew by it still felt like it was my life. 

I sat on that couch, read every magazine I could find, picked about 7 books from the library only to examine each cover instead of reading them, braided my hair 2 different ways, pretended to play the guitar, relaced the laces on my shoes, and sat in more silence for 3 hours until I finally had only an hour and a half left until 12:30. 

By then, even though I had a lamp on in the front room, it was very dark and frankly spooky inside Strawberry Field. I decided to wait outside from then on. It was fairly nice out, kind of chilly, but not so horrid. I put on my overcoat just in case and quietly snuck to the back door and opened it as softly as I could. It was the tiniest but windy outside so the door flew open a bit, but I caught it before it rammed into the side of the building. Closing it gently, I began to make my way to the tree. It really was a lovely tree. I always had an eye for it. It was one of those types of beauties that doesn't quite belong where it is, it's just much too beautiful. And yet there it stood. 

My bag was sat across my chest in such a comfortable way, once I got to the tree and sat down at the base of it, I leaned my head forward a bit and found myself drifting off. I awoke to a thud to my right, and jolted awake. I rubbed my eyes quickly before swinging my head to see who it was. I knew it was probably John but was so afraid it may have been someone from the neighborhood coming to question me or send me back inside or even worse that I flew to the right and my back hit the ground hard.

"Sorry!" John said getting on his knees to reach out a hand and help me up. 

"No problem," I grunted as I was lifted to my feet. 

I stood for a moment, looking at him as a grin began to form on his face, and wondered if I should just leave it be and go back inside. That thought was quickly ended when John began to talk again. 

"I asked my aunt," He said informatively. 

He stood there as though he expected for me to answer him, although it seemed his sentence wasn't complete.

"...what'd she say then?" I asked. 

"Oh, she said no," he said matter of factly. 

Gosh, was he confusing. He seemed so excited to tell me that I was stuck with no plan. 

"Well...I'll go back then?" I said confusedly. 

"Oh no, you can still come. Just be quiet, yeah?" 

I couldn't help but laugh. 

"Fine," I shrugged. 

So, then we went. We got to the fence, I watched him jump over, and then I followed. It felt so odd to be outside that building. We didn't have money to go on field trips, so I only ever looked past the willow tree. With my feet on the sidewalk, I felt so free I just began to skip down. 

"Oh, this is so thrilling!" I exclaimed as I jumped along the sidewalk. "Sneaking around, gosh I haven't been so excited in a long time!" 

"Shhh, keep it down!" John whisper-shouted. "There're other people sleeping here y'know." 

"Oh, sorry," I whispered. 

We walked a few blocks but it felt so long.

"Where is your house?" I groaned. "Feels like we've been walking for ages."

"Just down there," John said, pointing a finger lazily ahead of us, though the street was not very well-lit and I couldn't tell which house he meant. 

I went to whisper okay but I was so quiet that no sound came out, so I just nodded. 

The crickets were chirping louder than I'd ever heard, it sounded like the epitome of night time. The sound was so freeing, I nearly started to cry. I was so focused on calming myself down that I barely noticed that we'd arrived at the house. I kept walking until I noticed the difference in the air without John next to me. I whipped my head around and saw John with his arms out from his sides as he tried to get my attention without making too much noise. 

I waved back and jogged to the house he was standing in front of and stopped right in front of him. 

"Here we are. My house. Y-you can just go on up the steps, then," he said in a fairly uncertain tone. 

"Are you sure? Your aunt's not a mean lady, is she?" I said, just as unsure as John was. 

"Listen, I have no clue how this is going to all play out, but I do know that it's worth a try. Maybe she'll make you leave tomorrow, maybe not, but either way, come on in, and we'll know sooner than later what's going to happen. Okay?" 

I nodded hesitantly and began to cross into the grass on their lot, then up the steps, then to the door, turning to see where John was behind me. I moved to the side a bit for him to have more access to the door easily, and he figured with the knob for a moment before letting go of the handle and speed walking down the steps as I rushed to follow him. He ran to the back door and waited a moment to catch his breath before turning around to make sure I'd caught up. 

"What're you doing?!" I whispered in a concerned tone. 

"It'll be much quieter from the back," he said and placed a forcefully steady hand on the knob and turned it lightly. 

He let the knob turn freely, giving it a moment to make a noise, and when it didn't he pressed his body to the door, and walked into the door, letting it open with him. Once fully inside the house, he waved a hand for me to run in as well, and as soon as I was beside him he closed the door swiftly and quietly. 

We padded up the stairs as quietly as we could, stopping to pause with every creak and noise. After the longest walk imaginable, we made it to the kitchen which was nearly pitch black. 

"Are you hungry?" John whispered. 

I let out a stifled laugh. "No, silly! Can't we just get to where we need to be so I don't get sent back?" 

We waited a moment to contain our laughter before I opened my mouth to speak again. 

"Where's your room, John?" I asked. 

He pointed into the abyss that lied beyond the kitchen. "Right down that hall, up the stairs." 

"Right, then let's hurry. It's nearly 2 am." 

With that, we stepped carefully and agilely past the hallway and turned to trudge up the thickly carpeted stairs. Once we finally made it to John's room, which had the door wide open, we jumped in, and closed the door gently. 

Finally I thought. It'd taken so long, it felt, to get there that I was utterly drained. 

"May I make a quick bed on the floor, then?" I asked. 

"Oh, yes, sure. I'll get some blankets," John whispered. 

He reached to open a tall cabinet that had board games, paper, pencils, things I couldn't even say I knew where, and piles of blankets and a few pillows. 

He tossed a few to the ground, then spread the thickest blanket onto the ground, placed the 2 pillows on top, followed by the thinner blanket. 

"If you get cold, feel free to dig in there and grab as many more as you'd like. I'm going to sleep now, too, I think." John stood awkwardly in front of his bed for a moment before realizing that I was doing the same. 

He crawled into his bed with his coat and jeans and even his shoes, fussing around a bit before finally laying still. By that time I'd pulled my shoes off and placed them neatly beside the blankets I was to sleep on, took off my belt because Lord was it impossible to sleep with a belt on, and lay awkwardly on the floor, my eyes aligned with the ceiling. I knew it was only 3 am at best but was much too afraid to check my watch and be disappointed with the time. 

I was just about to drift to sleep when I heard the difference in John's breathing and could tell he'd woken up. I didn't dare turn my back and let him know I was still awake. I could tell he'd only risen halfway from his bed and heard a bit of moving around, then aloud thud followed by a few bounces, pause, and another thud followed by a few bounces. I nearly let out a snicker as I could tell he'd thrown his shoes off. 

After that lighthearted occurrence, I became much more tired, soon utterly exhausted from my jam packed day. I was so grateful it was Friday and the weekend was just about to begin. 

Before I knew it, I heard the clang of the tea kettle being placed on the cooker. I jolted up, more startled than I would've expected to be. John already sat up in his bed, his legs crossed and his face attentive. 

"What should I do now?" I whispered as softly as I could. 

"I-I'll go down there. I'll tell her and then she'll just have to keep you here, then," John whispered hesitantly and with a wave in his voice. 

"I can go down if you want," I suggested "I've no problem taking all the blame." 

"No, she'll kick you out right off if you do that. I'll go. I'll go and you'll wait here and listen if you want to." 

I nodded my head and shrugged my shoulders. The situation was out of my control, and if I would need to leave then so be it. There wasn't much I could do. Obviously I was nervous but my thought process was screw that. I'd been through too much to care about what an auntie thought of me. 

I listened carefully to the clatter of the dishes from the downstairs being drowned in John's loud footsteps. As it grew fainter and fainter, I soon knew they were talking about it. The clatter of dishes went away. 

"John Winston Lennon! How dare you?!" The woman screamed then paused."Send her down here at once." 

I gulped and attempted to stand up but my body froze. John opened the door and I looked up at him in horror. 

"I'll go. I'll go down, it's fine. I'll go," I said to myself, standing up nervously and tip toed down the stairs. As though that would save me.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After bargaining with John's aunt, Nora finds a place there. John takes Nora out to meet his friends.

John's aunt was standing in the middle of the kitchen with the sink still running, her arms crossed in front of her and a ghastly expression on her face. The kitchen was on the right of the stairs so she didn't notice me at first but once she did I could see the anger in her face rise. 

She opened her mouth to, I can imagine, begin yelling, but I quickly began to beg her. 

"Please ma'am, before you get cross, please just listen to me," I said, placing the hands in front of me as some sort of peaceful protest. 

She shut her mouth and gave a small grunt, but I suppose, decided to give me a chance. 

"My name is Eleanora Mahoney ma'am. I'm from Liverpool, just like you. My parents kicked me out of my home a little over a year ago and I've been staying at the little girls home just down the street. I was born here ma'am, I was. And your nephew here has been so generous as to even think about letting me stay here. And I know it may seem like an awful situation seeing as though we're the same age and I'm a girl and he's a boy but you will have my word that there will be no funny business here. Now, I'm not asking to stay here because I want a loving, caring family, not at all. I merely need a place to stay while I receive schooling, ma'am. I'll work, pay rent if you'd like. I'll sleep on the sofa, cook supper for you and your family, do the chores, all I ask is that you allow me to stay here, just until I save enough money to rent my own flat. Please ma'am." 

She seemed shocked for a moment, very taken aback. She stood still for a moment, dropped her hand to her sides, then as she opened her mouth to speak she placed them up on her hips. 

"Child, we've frankly not much room for you. I can scarcely pay for the mouths I'm responsible for," She said and sighed loudly, obviously deeping in thought. "You're 16?"

"Yes ma'am, and I can leave on my own as soon as I'm 18. I'll work and pay for my own food ma'am. I'll only be here to sleep and do chores if you'd like for me to." 

She pursed her lips furrowed her eyebrows, still deep in thought. After tutting her mouth for a few seconds she threw her hands out from her hips and gave a huge shrug.

"Fine. Fine. You may stay here. I'll be paying no money for your schooling. You'll go to the public school that my nephew attends. I can provide supper for you but you'll need to pay for your other meals or groceries, yes? And there's no need of you sleeping on the couch like a homeless person, you may sleep in the guest bedroom, next to John's. The day you turn 18...I cannot let you stay here. Understood?" 

My hands seemingly stopped shaking immediately and joy overtook my body. 

"Oh yes, ma'am! Thank you so much, thank you!" 

John had been standing at the foot of the stairs, listening intently. 

"Really, Aunt Mimi?! Thank you!" He said, skipping flamboyantly over to his Aunt and giving her a hug. 

"Mimi, since she's staying here, can I show her around the neighborhood, please Aunt Mimi?" 

She rolled her eyes in annoyance. 

"Yes, John, go show her about the neighborhood," She said, and turned to finish the dishes. 

He flipped his head around in my direction, a conniving grin beginning on his face. 

He gestured for me to follow him and he ran to the front door, whipping it open and sprinting down the stairs. I went after him, not nearly as fast, and closed the door behind me before and skipped down the stairs, imitating him.

"So, what exactly is there to see?" I asked as I ran a bit to catch up to John. 

"I dunno, whatever you want to see, I guess. I can get my friends to come with us if you want. Though, beware, they're both flirts." 

"That's alright, I guess. I'm not afraid to kick someone in the bollocks, anyway," I said. "Where do your friends live?" 

"They both live right near each other but it's a few streets down this way," he said, and pointed to the right side of the end of the street we were walking down. 

"Well, this is quite a nice neighborhood," I pointed out, gazing at all the middle class homes, containing complete families with happy parents and happy kids. 

"It's a right here and then 2 streets down," John said. "You don't mind the walk, right?" 

"No, not at all," I said with a growing grin on my face and I increased my pace to a skip.

"So, who are we meeting?" I asked. 

"My friend Paul lives there," he said, pointing ahead of us, but providing no concept of where Paul lived. "Not really sure where to go after," he said in an exasperated laugh. 

"Okay, then," I said eagerly. "Sounds good to me." 

So we walked for a few more minutes, until John noticed out of the blue that we'd just passed Paul's house. 

He stopped so suddenly it nearly frightened me and my shoes made a skid noise on the concrete. 

"Here, it's here," John said, pointing at a house a few meters behind us. 

He ran up to the front door and once he was standing before it he turned and waved me up from where I was standing, at the bottom of the steps. He made a fist and held it in front of the door for a moment of hesitation, then knocked a bit too softly. He breathed in, then knocked again more strongly. We waited a moment, then began to hear the deadbolt be unlocked and the old door creaked open. 

A man stood behind the threshold, confusion at first then recognition on his face. 

"Paul!" He called, his head immediately turned behind him. "John's here!" 

A faint, "coming!" echoed from inside the house as the man nodded in John's direction. 

"My, it's quite early for a Saturday, now isn't it John," the man said casually. 

"Yes, sir, I suppose it is. You see Nora here is new to the neighborhood, so I'm just introducing her to the lot." 

"Yes, that makes a great deal of sense. Make sure you-," he began but loud footsteps interrupted him. 

"Thanks Da, be back before dinner," the boy, Paul said. 

"Mm tah," the man said and shut the door behind him. 

John and Paul, as though they'd practiced it, skipped down the steps in unison, like straight out of Singing In The Rain.

"Didn't know you had a bird, Johnny," Paul exclaimed, patting him on the shoulder. 

He laughed nervously. 

"She's not my bird! She's come to live with me and Mimi. She got kicked out of her house, she did. So we're letting her stay with us 'till she's 18 and grown enough for a flat of her own," he said. 

"Yea, that's what they all say," Paul laughed out. "So what's your name?" 

"Oh, I'm Eleanora," I said quietly, suddenly nervous. "You can just call me Nora." 

"Alright, hello Nora," Paul said, and held out a hand for me to shake. 

I shook it limply then regained my quicker pace of walking as to not draw attention to my weak handshake. 

"Well, what'd you get kicked out for?" Paul asked bluntly. 

"Paul!" John whispered, elbowing him roughly. 

"What?!" He lipped silently, waving his hands in the air. 

"It's fine, John, I don't mind. You really want to know why my Da kicked me out?" 

Paul nodded at me first, then shrugged in John's direction. John rolled his eyes and his face seemed to do the same thing. 

"Well…" I haven't given it much thought honestly. I figured now wasn't any worse than a different time. "When I was 11 I told my father that I would never want to have a husband because I didn't like men. He thought it was just a dumb thing 11 year old girls say with their friends, but when I turned 14 he wanted to make sure I had a boyfriend to prove that I did infact like men. And I didn't like the guy he wanted me to date. He then made the conclusion that I must me a homosexual, and told me to leave and never come back." 

John had a look of shock on his face and Paul seemed to be very intrigued. 

"Are you?" Paul blurted out. John elbowed him once more. 

I cleared my throat anxiously. "That's not necessarily important, but if you must know...I am not." 

John backed away from Paul just a bit, and opened his mouth only to close it for a moment. 

"Well...it would be okay with me if you were, you know. I see no problem with it whatsoever," he finally said. 

Paul cleared his throat and tugged at his collar a little, visibly a bit uncomfortable, then changed the subject immediately. 

"Where've you been staying?" He said with fake enthusiasm. 

"Down the road at the girls home just there," I said, pointing behind me. "See I've been there nearly a year, I have." 

"Was your Da a nice man? Like did he love you?" John asked. 

"I suppose he did a little, but he seldom brought it up. He only really liked me when I sang for him, that was it." 

"Well, you'll never have to see 'im again, if you don't want to, now." John had a cross look on his face, as though he wanted to meet my father and punch him. 

"There's no need to be cross, John, I've not seen him in a year nearly, and I plan to never see him again," I shrugged. 

"John, we're right near George's house," Paul said.

"Who's George?" I asked. 

"Our friend," 

"My friend," The two boys said simultaneously. 

"Okay," I said, tucking in my lips and nodding. 

Paul ran up to this house right in front of us and knocked at the door, John staying put where he was a few houses down. I stood next to him. 

"Is Paul going to not want to see me 'cos he thinks I'm a dyke now?" I asked. 

"I doubt he'll be that cross about it but I can talk to him if you want," John whispered, barely opening his lips. "It's really okay if you are, Nora. Just don't tell Mimi." 

"I'm n-," I began, but Paul then began jogging back to us with a boy a bit younger than him running behind him. 

The boys eyes widened when he saw there was a girl in his group of boys and he nudged Paul when he caught up to him. 

"This is Nora. She's staying with John 'cos she got kicked out her house for being a homosexul," Paul stated, presenting me with a hand motion. 

"Woa, that's sick," the boy, George I assumed, whispered. 

"I'm not a homosexual," I muttered under my breath. "And I'd much rather you make fun of me for something different, if you don't mind. Make fun of my big hair or something good, tah." 

"What are we to do now?" George asked. "Are we going somewhere?" 

"No, just thought you'd like to meet Nora 'fore she starts showing up everytime we hang out is all. Anyway, I should've mentioned we've got lots to do today, George, you can just run on back to your house. We can hang out all day tomorrow," John said. 

I looked at him in confusion, since I'd not heard of anything we needed to do and was about to question it when he nudged me without breaking his gaze with George. 

"Sure thing, bye Paul," George said and ran back to his house, waving as he walked in. 

"What was that for?" Paul said. 

"What'd you mean? It's true, we've got to be home in some 10 minutes or so," John said defensively. 

"Alright then, walk me home?" Paul asked. 

"Reckon so, yea." 

I nodded along and followed behind John and he chatted with Paul about whatever Paul was doing at his school, I gathered they attended different schools. We got to Paul's fairly quickly, and as soon and John saw Paul inside, he hopped down the stairs, grabbed my wrist and began sprinting, whizzing me along with him. 

"What're you doing?!" I shouted as I quickly began running with him. 

"Nothing, I'll tell you when we get home," he whispered and I could barely make it out. 

And then we ran home and he slammed the front door behind us.


End file.
